Free software is simply software that respects our freedom — our freedom to learn and understand the software we are using. Free software is designed to free the user from restrictions put in place by proprietary software, and so using free software lets you join a global community of people who are making the political and ethical assertion of our rights to learn and to share what we learn with others.

FROM THE ARCHIVES

OPEN SOURCE EVENTS

Here's what's coming up in November:

The OW2con'13 is the fifth edition of the annual community event. The international conferences is Nov. 12-14 in Paris-Issy-les-Moulineaux, France.

Linux Symposium strives to be one of best internationally represented Linux events. It takes place Nov. 18-21 in Ottawa, Canada.

Check out the events calendar to see other upcoming open source events and submit your own!

Open source geek (and father) Burr Sutter explains why he believes children should learn to code even if they don't have a future in IT.Closed source is better than open source in certain situations, says OpenLogic founder Rod Cope. Here are seven reasons that will leave you shaking your head.Reporting bugs is a chance to contribute back to the open source project you're working on. Here's a user guide for open source project bug submissions.Opensource.com is accepting articles. Here's how you can contribute.

Are you an enterpriser? The new Enterprisers Project is taking a look at how today's IT leaders are making it easier for enterprises to respond to business opportunities. Find out if you're an enterpriser.